Traffic controlling semaphore



ug- 24, 1943- CANEPA ET AL y 2,327,400

TRAFFI C CONTROLLING SEMAPHORE Filed Sept. 24, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet lAug. 24, 1943. L CANEPA ETAL 2,327,400

TRAFFIC CONTROLLING SEMAPHORE Y Filed Sept. 24, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2@JJM @Wim/M www5,

Patented Aug. 24, 1943 UNITED "s'rarlzs ra'rsnrorrics Y I E frialirrrocoiirlfiofsnimrnoan- `Luis Canepa and AlignelCanepa, Santiago, Chile Y lappagante september 24, 1941, serial Na. 412,178

. 3 Claims.

y 'his invention relates t'o apparatus for the use of police onlci'alsin directing 'vehicular and pedestrian traiiic. Y

The invention has for its object to provide an enclosed platform forsupporting the traffic olii.' "c'r'in a position suitably elevated toenable him td efciently discharge his duties and which, when not inuse,may be lowered to a concealed 'position within la shaft and covered soas to presentirlo obstruction in the 'surface of the pave'- shaft cover'so that these maybe manipulated with `aminimum of exertion. p

Inthe accompanying drawings wherein an ap'- 'Ii'rove'd form of theinvention is illustrated i Figu're'l is a sectional viewthroughfafragnient of ,roadway showing the invention applied to use,V theenclosed platform being shown in raised operative position. Y

Figure 2 is' a fragmentary view similar to Figure' l taken' at rightangles thereto.Y A

Figure 3 is aportion of Figure .2 showing the lockihglev'srrelea'sed.

Figure 4 is'- an Venlarged perspective View of the enclosed platformshowing the door in open position, and

Figure 5 is a perspective View of the adjustable stop members removedfrom the bottom of the enclosed platform.

Referring to the drawings in detail,Y the numeral lil indicates thesurface of a pavement or roadway at o-r near an intersection wheretraffic requires the supervision of a directing oflicer. A verticalshaft il of appropriate depth is provided in the roadway a drain l2,preferably communicatinff1r with the sewerage system, is provided in thebottom of the shaft to insure proper drainage `of rain water. Y

The enclosed platform, designated generally by the numeral i3, ismounted for vertical movement in the shaft E5 and when elevated projectsa substantial distance above the open top of the shaft. The enclosedplatform is constituted by a base i4 supporting the upright .side wallsi5, one of which designated I5 is hinged at Il. for convenienceofaccess. A perforated oor IS constituting a support for the occupant,is disposed in spaced relation toV the base Il# and the upper part ofthe enclosure is provided with a railJQ. Immediately Ybelow the rail I9the walls l5 are inclined inwardly and support traiiic control (Cl.IS7-1)v lamps `porer'ableV b y the occupant of the enclosed platform orotherwise.

d `The base iii is of such dimensions as to be freelyV movable throughthe upper open end of the shaft li lso' as to enable the enclosed plat-.fQi'm' to be' `cornpletely removed from the shaft when necessityarises. Normally the upper rnovef Afilent ofthe enclosed platform islimited by stop members 2j engageableV lwith the o'verhanging top edges2?. 0f lthe shaft whereby the upper movement of the enclosed platform islimited. The stop members 2| are slidably engaged with supporting plates23 secured to the base I4 and may be moved inwardly with respecttheretoY so as to permit the entire platform to be withdrawn from Atheshaft il. The stop members El are providedvwith bolts Eil engaginginslots 25 pro- 'vided inthe lsupporting'plates 23 and they are 'secinedin adjusted position by wing nuts 25, i

The verticalvmovement of the enclosed platform is guided by a frame El,preferably'of skelettjn constru'ction, andprcvided with a top flange 28arrangedpto lie' substantially flush with the s ufac'e of the roadwaysurrcunding'-the shaft. At one side cf the shaft the ilange 28 isprovided `v th` a slot 23 receiving the'slidable topplateI-lil h" is;movable to a Vhorizontal position for 'theop'en top of the shaft H andfor forming Ya continuation of the surrounding surface of the roadway.To open the shaft and thereby permit the enclosed platform to be movedto raised position, the top plate is swung upwardly t0 a substantiallyvertical position and slid downwardly through the slot 29 untilv itcomes to r st upon supporting lugs 3| provided on one side of the guideframe 2. A cable 32 is attached near the free edge of the top plate Eil,extends over a guide pulley 33 and is attached at its opposite end to acounterweight 34 whereby the weight of the cover plate iscounterbalanced for convenience in the manipulation thereof.

The weight of the entire platform I3 is also counterbalanced by weights35 attached to cables 36 extending over guide pulleys 3l and attached tothe bottom of the enclosed platform. In this manner the weight of theenclosedplatiorm is counterbalanced and the operations of raising andlowering it are simplified.

The enclosed platform is locked in operative raised position by lockinglevers 36 coactng with stop shoulders 3S attached to the walls of jtheshaft H. The lockinglevers 38 are pivotally secured at 4t adjacent theirouter ends to the underside of the base i4 and the inner ends thereofare slotted and engaged with a pull rod 4I whereby the locking leversmay be moved to inoperative position to release the enclosed platformand permit the latter to be lowered. During upward movement of theplatform the cuter ends of the levers 38 are engaged by the shoulders 39and tilted in opposite directions, the inner ends of the levers beingswung upwardly. When the outer extremities of the levers 38 have passedthe shoulders 39 they are swung outwardly by the Weight of the innerextremities thereof and being engaged on top of the shoulders 39,support the platform in raised position.

For the protection of the occupant of the en- Y closed platform acollapsible canopy 42 is supported on the removable upright 43 and, whennot in use5 the canopy is folded and inserted in a recess 44 provided inthe floor I8. The upper extremity of the pull rod 4I passes through oneof the perforations in the floor I8 and is provided with a handle #i5for use in releasing the locking levers 38. When not in use the support43 for the canopy is retained in a holder 46 and a folding seat fil' isattached to one of the side Walls I5 for the use of the occupant. Thesignal lamps 20 may be controlled by the occupant through a manuallyoperable switch 48 and current is supplied for this purpose by means ofanJ electric cable 43. An electric heating unit 5I] and a ventilatingfan 5I are preferably located in the enclosed platform below theperforated floor I8. The numeral 52 indicates a flag which may be usedby the traic oiiicer in case of failure 4of the lamps 20.

In operation the shaft is uncovered by lifting the closure plate 3D toan upright position and thereafter lowering it until supported upon thelugs 3I. rThe weights 35 are preferably so proportioned so as to causethe platform I3 to move upwardly to operative position when the shaft iis uncovered by openingr the plate 30. In moving upwardly the lockingplates 38 are deected by the shoulders 39 and eventually assume a lockedposition with respect thereto, thus retaining the enclosed platform inraised operative position. The upward movement of the platform islimitedby the stop members 2| engaging the overhanging edges 22 of the shaftIII'. By opening the door I6 the traflic oiiicer may have access to theinterior of the enclosed platform and during use the door I6 is retainedin closed position, as will be understood. When vacating the enclosedplatform, the door I is opened and the locking levers 38 are released byan upward pull upon the rod 4I. The door I5 is subsequently closed andthe entire platform is moved to a concealed position within the shaft bythe application of a negligible amount of force. 'Thereafter the closureplate 3i) is raised and tilted downwardly to close the open top of theshaft and in this case the top of the plate forms a continuation of thesurface of the surrounding roadway.

We claim for our invention:

1. An apparatus of the character described comprising a shaft having anopen top, an enclosed platformrmovable from a concealed position withinthe shaft to a raised position therein, counter-balancing means for saidplatform, means to lock said platform in raised position, a closure forthe open top of said shaft, said top being movable from closed positionto .an open position disposed substantially parallel with said shaft.

2. An apparatus of the character described comprising a shaft having anopen top, an enclosed platform movable from a concealed position withthe shaft to a raised position therein, counter-balancing means for saidplatform, means to lock said platform in raised position, and a closurefor the open top of said shaft,'said locking means including a pair oflevers pivoted beneath the platform and movable by gravity to operativeposition, locking members coacting with said levers and means for movingsaid levers to inoperative position.

3. An apparatus of the character described comprising a shaft having anopen top, an enclosed platform movable from a concealed position Withthe shaft to a raised position therein, counter-balancing means for saidplatform, means to lock said platform inY raised position, and a closurefor the open top of said shaft, a base member supporting said platform,and adljustable stop members carried by said base.,

LUIS CANEPA. ANGEL CANEPA.

